The Great Thief

“We’ve only practiced Water Park twice, so I don’t see how we would be advantaged by choosing it,” Fat Monkey reasoned with a serious look on his face. He hated this map since he hated water in game and in real life.

“Dark Room isn’t too bad. I think it’s a viable option. It’s not like we haven’t fought in it,” Kitty Likes Meat suggested.

The Dark Room was where she had gained recognition as a professional player. Back when they fought Stellar Union, Ruling Sword was in a bad situation. However, after Kitty Likes Meat successfully outplayed them, they swiftly claimed victory. This match led to her being named as the Best Rookie of the season. Some people thought that she wasn’t a rookie at all.

The next few maps were cast aside and ignored. Even Lu Li was a little torn between the choices.

Ruling Sword had only started proper training after Cat Dad joined.

They spent all of their resources on buying Training Systems where they could virtually build all the available maps and train. However, this didn’t mean that Ruling Sword was able to train properly to their hearts’ content.

Firstly, they did not have enough professional players in the guild. Without opponents, how would they be able to train? The normal elite squad members did not even pose a threat to Lu Li and his team.

Furthermore, it was not possible for them to keep training in these maps continuously.

Professional players were professionals because they were stronger than normal players in gear and skill. To become more fluid in their mechanics, they needed to practice. To gain stronger equipment, they needed to collect materials. To gain levels, they needed to spend time and grind.

In terms of levels, other teams that were already eliminated would go and train immediately to try and close the gap. However, these stronger guilds wouldn’t just let them surpass them, so they were also training extremely hard. Ruling Sword’s players had spent a great amount of time just farming EXP.

Now, they did not have a specific map that they excelled in.

“Alright. Let’s have a guess for which map Peerless City will be good in,” Lu Li said as he rubbed his temples.

“It’s not that simple. How about you just ask Water Fairy? She’s already followed you here anyway and you guys are on good terms,” Fat Monkey said, surprising everyone.

“What are you talking about?” Lu Li instantly denied it as he felt his cheeks going red. Now that he was close with Water Fairy, both of them were careful about their relationship going forward into the future since it was still unknown. Furthermore, they knew that the road ahead would be difficult if they decided to get together.

As such, Lu Li did not want to joke about this. He was a simple man with a clear goal. His only concern was for his sister and to take good care of her. A companion in life was only a side goal.

Even if he had gained recognition and a little status, he didn’t think about pursuing a wealthy, upper-class girl.

It could be said that this was an accident – an accident that he did not realise that he was slowly getting used to.

“If there’s nothing that we can do, then what do you think that they’re good at, Lu Li? We don’t have much on Peerless City,” Square Root Three said, a little frustrated.

“Well, it’s not like we don’t have any clues. Don’t you think that the last match in Dustwallow Marsh revealed a little? Lu Li asked.

Dustwallow Marsh? What clues could Dustwallow Marsh give?

Everyone was confused at Lu Li’s words.

“They usually train and research the less-used maps, such as Dustwallow Marsh, the Firelands and Dark Room. I’m guessing that they’ve already researched and trained in these maps, so we wouldn’t be advantaged in picking them,” Lu Li explained. Based on his knowledge of Peerless City in his previous life, Lu Li was sure of his judgment.

“That seems to make sense. What’s your decision?” Square Root Three asked.

“Let’s just pick the Arena. This eliminates other factors and potential luck. Let’s fight them face on this time,” Lu Li said as he slapped the table.

Jiangnan could not be compared to Qiantang. The stadium was smaller, so the live audience would obviously also be smaller.

However, Jiangnan’s fans were more passionate than Qiantang’s.

In these past couple of years, Qiantang had become the home of many entertainment companies. However, Jiangnan never had anything like this. Even Star Moon Union had a lot of support from fans. It only went to show that this city was desperate for a large entertainment company.

After establishing Ruling Sword, all the Jiangnan players did not hesitate to become lifelong fans of this guild.

When Ruling Sword entered the stadium, the roars and screams from their fans were enough to raise the roof. It was fortunate that it was an open stadium.

It was time to pick the map!

The members of Peerless City were expecting Dark Room, Silverpine Forest or the Golden Plains. However, they did not think that they would pick the Arena.

The Arena was a completely flat map with nowhere to hide. You could see from one end to the other and apart from the few pillars in the middle of the map, there weren’t any other obstacles.

After the last match at Dustwallow Marsh, Peerless City knew that there was a gap between them and Ruling Sword.

If Ruling Sword was unfortunate in picking one of their better maps, then there was a chance for a comeback.

After both teams entered the stadium, the match begun. The Arena was a simple map. Everyone took their positions and rushed forward when it was their time on the stage. The win or loss was ultimately decided on skill, without the influence of luck.

For this match, the first to battle was Lu Li, so Peerless City sent out Half a Smoke.

They sent out Half a Smoke because Mages were able to gain an advantage no matter who their opponent was. In this current version of the game, as long as the mechanics of the Mage were good, barely any classes would be able to control them.

In this game update, Thieves were nerfed while Mages were buffed. Although there was a known gap between their strength, the analysts reasoned that there still was some uncertainty to who would come out on top.